Visiting a GP practice doesn’t always mean visiting a doctor. Other staff, from nurses to secretaries, are also essential to ensuring patients receive the best quality of care. Clinical Rx pharmacists provide remote support for a wide range of services, allowing patients to benefit from their knowledge and expertise in a more efficient and accessible way.
What are Clinical Rx Pharmacists?
In recent years, attempts have been made to expand the range of practitioners based in GP surgeries so that doctors can focus on the most complex diagnoses and treatments. This includes the increased provision of clinical pharmacists, who consult directly with patients, helping them manage their medications and any long-term health conditions. Clinical Rx pharmacists provide a similar service, but remotely, offering tailored support to different practices depending on their specific needs.
Services provided by Clinical Rx Pharmacists
A broad range of services can be provided by Clinical Rx pharmacists, including prescription management and review, medication reconciliation and long-term condition management. Clinical Rx can also help clear backlogs and achieve quality outcomes framework (QOF) targets. This can take place not just with individual GP practices, but also across wider primary care networks (PCNs).
Benefits of Clinical Rx Pharmacists
The primary aim of a Clinical Rx pharmacist is to improve outcomes for patients. This can be achieved in several ways. It can provide consistency by ensuring that all providers in a PCN are working to a similar system and standard. Medication can be managed more efficiently, with patients able to access advice and adjust their prescriptions without prolonged waits, and with more comprehensive reviews possible.
Patients who want to see a doctor for a more serious matter will also have quicker access to appointments, and appointments can be held in more depth, because GPs will not have to spend so much time on issues that could be handled by a pharmacist. In cases where a backlog has built up, such as in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, it allows patients whose care has been delayed to finally receive the treatment they need.
Access to quicker and more comprehensive care, particularly in prescription management, means patients can ensure medication is working effectively and with minimal side effects. It is easier to respond to changing needs, and to make adjustments as necessary. If patients need to attend different providers within the same PCN, then they can feel more confident that standards of care will be maintained. This is particularly valuable to patients with chronic conditions who may need to continuously adjust their medication over many months or even years.
By helping patients review and manage their medications, as well as clearing surgery backlogs, Clinical Rx pharmacists can ensure patients have access to timely and knowledgeable advice, helping them better navigate their own health whilst reducing stress not just for patients but also other healthcare workers.
What services does Clinical Rx provide?
In general, clinical pharmacists exist to help with the management of medication. They ensure patients receive the correct prescription, that it works as intended, that potential side effects are monitored, that their dosage is adjusted as needed, and that reviews are carried out as necessary. This is of particular use for those with chronic conditions who require long term management, and who are particularly reliant on the ongoing support of their GP practice.
Utilisation of clinical pharmacists allows the practice as a whole to work more efficiently, ensuring doctors can focus on more complex diagnoses and treatments, and it improves the patient experience by providing them with quicker and more tailored care. Increased efficiency in time, organisation and costs ensures ARRS funding is put to good use, to the benefit of a practice or entire PCN.
There are several benefits to utilising the services of Clinical Rx, in particular, which works as a remote clinical pharmacist provider supporting a range of PCNs and practices as needed on a flexible basis. As well as streamlining prescription management and reviews, relieving pressure on GPs, and improving patient care, it can clear the backlog and help meet QOF targets. Meeting QOF targets, in particular, allows you to be rewarded for good performance, increasing your practice income. This makes ARRS funding a profitable investment as well as one that is effective in terms of patient outcomes.
It can be a difficult decision to decide how best to use ARRS funding, but Clinical Rx can provide specific benefits for patients and doctors both in terms of efficiency and cost effectiveness. This leads to better outcomes for everyone in the PCN or practice, and for the PCN or practice itself.
For improved outcomes, we believe that communication is vital between the different professions. At Clinical Rx®, we welcome feedback and reviews, so we can continue to offer the best possible service. By working together, the team can better address the complex needs of patients, improve outcomes, and enhance the overall patient experience. Ultimately, the goal is to provide high-quality care in a collaborative and patient-centred approach.Â
Our Pharmacists are not limited to medication management only. We understand that every GP Practice has different needs at times. Whether it be assistance with protocols, quality improvement work or additional work for CQC inspections – we can help, contact us for more information.Â
References: 1. Duncan, P. et al. (2020) ‘Barriers and enablers to collaborative working between GPS and Pharmacists: A qualitative interview study’, British Journal of General Practice, 70(692). doi:10.3399/bjgp20x708197.
